ATHENS, Georgia — Since training camp, Dan Mullen has engaged with reporters in a mostly playful manner. He has smiled often. He has joked around. He has offered lengthy responses to questions.

But the good times were put on pause Saturday night — and not just in the media room where Mullen kept things brief and straightforward.

“I don’t think we executed well in any of the three phases tonight,” Mullen said.

No. 19 Mississippi State’s 31-3 loss to No. 12 Georgia at Sanford Stadium showed what happens when Mississippi State can’t dictate the pace. And what happens when its run game fails to produce necessary yardage on first and second down early on in the game. And what happens when MSU cannot generate an effective pass-rush.

It’s not that complicated, and the results weren’t pretty. They instead were concerning for MSU, which travels to No. 16 Auburn next week and has hopes of making legitimate noise this season.

Georgia (4-0) proved it is worthy of being named the second-best team in the SEC, behind No. 1 Alabama. Mississippi State (3-1)? Mullen’s team is good, but it is also flawed in concerning ways that separate it from being a great team — and those shortcomings were exposed.

Road trips in the SEC aren’t supposed to be fruitful, but it was clear after the first few plays that this game wasn’t going to be similar to Mississippi State’s first three.

On the first play of the game, Aeris Williams caught a screen pass from Nick Fitzgerald and was stopped before he could ever take a step forward. A 6-yard loss was the result of the play, but the consequences were greater. Williams then took a handoff for a meager 2-yard gain. The drive finished with a three-and-out.

MSU’s first two offensive plays were a microcosm of the game. MSU averaged 2.9 yards on 27 first-down plays, which led to several second-and-longs and the Bulldogs finishing 6 of 16 on third down.

UGA never had that problem. Georgia executed a flea-flicker flawlessly for a 59-yard touchdown on its first play. By the time UGA quarterback Jake Fromm received the ball back from Nick Chubb, cornerback Tolando Cleveland had bit on the handoff, and receiver Terry Godwin was alone downfield.

This quickly became a game Mississippi State was forced to try and win without its rushing attack working while trailing a talented defensive team. That scenario is not conducive to MSU’s game offensively. Mississippi State needed to throw the ball more, and when it did, things got worse.

Nick Fitzgerald, who went 14-of-29 for 83 yards, is still progressing as a quarterback and isn’t yet a finished product capable of making the right reads, throws and decisions to propel MSU to a win against a team like UGA. MSU’s receivers still haven’t shown the ability to consistently create separation from defenders and the group still lacks a true vertical threat. All of that was exposed.

The score was 14-3 at halftime, but Fitzgerald’s two interceptions in the second half contributed to the lopsided margin.

“We couldn’t get everyone on the same page executing,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s over with and it sucks, but we have to learn from it.”

Mississippi State’s flaws that showed up here weren’t limited to the offense, either.

The hallmarks through the first three games of the season for MSU’s defense has been its ability to prevent big plays and create a pass-rush. Big plays are more unpredictable, so MSU wasn’t able to generate a pass-rush against Georgia’s offensive line is more concerning. That helped Fromm, a true freshman, complete 9 of 12 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns.

Without facing a menacing pass-rush, Fromm had no trouble identifying targets and hitting receivers over the middle and one-on-one. MSU had gone three games without its corners getting tested. That changed here.

“I wasn’t concerned with the effort tonight,” Mullen said. “We didn’t execute and I don’t think we tackled as well. Guys were caught out of position and they capitalized.”

Said Cleveland: “We beat ourselves. We will get it fixed. We have to get it fixed.”

Mississippi State’s win against LSU in Week 3 showcased the best of what the Bulldogs are capable of and what happens when MSU can run effectively, dictate the pace and generate a nasty pass-rush.

Seven days later, the worst was discovered when none of the above happened.